Plato was a well-known wrestler, and the name by which we know him today was his ring name. Plato means broad or flat: presumably in this case the former meaning, referring to his shoulder. At his birth in 429 B.C. Plato was given the name Aristocles. He was born in Athens, or on the island of Aegina, which lies just twelve miles offshores from Athens in the Saronic Gulf. Plato was born into one of the great political families of Athens. His father Ariston was descended from Codrus, the last kin Athens, and his mother was descended from the great Athenian lawmaker Solon (Sahakian, 1977). An eager student of philosophy under the guidance of Socrates., Plato became thoroughthly familiar with the complex problems of the discipline taught his own students the value of philosophical examination of every moral and political opinion. In his Seventh Letter, Plato mentions that in his youth he entertained the hope of entering upon a political career as soon as he came of age, but the abuses perpetrated by the Thirty Tyrants and death of Socrates aborted this aspiration. It was assumed that Plato was twenty when he met Socrates and remained his faithful disciple not only throughout the lifetime but also after the death of Socrates. For years a Socrates’ death, Plato was committed to refining and extending the Socratic principles and defending the Socratic method of inquiry against criticism. To the end of his life, Plato remained in completed agreement with the essential spirit of Socrates, vindicating Socrates’ memory and perpetuating his mission( Durant,2009). This fearful piece of political intrigue and spitefulness left an indelible impression upon the young man’s mind. No one could long maintain his independence and integrity within the framework of party politics. It is from this time forward that Plato finally turned to a life devoted to philosophy. Plato’s close association with Socrates places him in a dangerous position, and he was forced to remove himself from Athens for his own good. Thus begins his travels, which were to last for the next twelve years. After learning all he could at the feet of his master, he would now learn from the world. Plato travel all around the world, learning and educating his self as a philosopher. It was just before Plato turned forty that he undertook his travels to Italy and Sicily. One purpose for this sojourn was to discuss matters with scientist and statesman, Arthytas, a Pythagorean who inspired Plato’s founding of the Academy, a new concept for an educational center. It was on his return to Athens from Egypt in 395 B.C. that Plato bought a piece of land just beyond the city limits and establishes the world’s first University, called the Academy. The Academy’s primary goal was to educate citizens for statesmanship. Plato, like Socrates, received no fee for teaching, but unlike Socrates, he did not go into the marketplace to teach; rather he remained aloof from active life of the city and let the students come to him. Plato delivered lectures on special occasion both to an elite group and to a wider audience- for example, Plato lectured on the good using Socratic Method wherever possible. The Academy, called the “University of Athens”, firmly established in the Platonic tradition, endured continuously for almost nine centuries (Sahakian, 36). The Central feature of Plato’s philosophy is his Theory of Ideas (or Forms), which he continued to develop all his life. This means that Plato’s theory has come down to us in several differing versions, thus providing philosophers with sufficient material to argue over for centuries to come. The best explanation of Plato’s theory of Ideas is his own. Unfortunately Plato’s explanation comes in the form of an image, which places it in the realm of literature rather than philosophy, “Plato explains that most human beings live as if in a dim cave. We are chained, he says, and facing a blank wall,...

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...human beings. Plato and Socrates saw many of these scientific thinkers and Sophists as being scatter-brained because of their lack of aesthetic order. The Sophists were more interested in man himself and how he behaved. In this case the basic mechanics in man doing things for himself. While Socrates was left as the opponent to this Sophist way of thinking, he was more concerned with morality, discovering the just, true, and good. Philosophy to Socrates was more then just a profession of what man can do, rather a way of life in examining ones self. By even using his method of dialect and use of irony Socrates would expose false claims of wisdom to move towards knowledge of man’s own nature, only convinced that it could be achieved through hard work.
Like Socrates, Plato’s philosophy had the same intake that man had more to think about then just himself, rather the aim to use reasoning in thinking for themselves. Plato discusses how ideas are real, and the particular is only apparent through his idea about the word ‘horse’. Plato is referring to when said something, as he said a horse, does not necessarily mean the physical animal of a horse, but more then that, more or less the idea of a horse through space and time. This theory of ideas of Plato apparently caused many philosophers to be come scatter-brained, in the sense that at that time many people could not look beyond the physical idea or reality of something...

...1-Plato discusses father-son relationship
2-good character is a gift from the gods
3-the idea that Knowledge is a matter of recollection, and not of learning, observation, or study
4-Several dialogues tackle questions about art
5-Idea being the real
Plato’s Republic
Plato's Republic was a necessary catalyst for the advancement of human knowledge through the idea of using inductive reasoning. I feel it was important for scientific studies of the past to use inductive reasoning instead of deductive because it fuels the desire to learn or gain more knowledge through questions. Questioning the authority, whether it be the government, the Church, or numerous other topics is essential for creating a new way of thinking or any other change in how an individual or society acts.
The down side however to Plato's new epistemology is that it excludes the masses and portrays people who disagree with the "authority" as irrational, which in my opinion destroys the idea that all people are one and created equal.
Regarded as Plato's most important work, the Republic has long been studied as a seminal text of the Western literary and philosophical canon. In this group of philosophical dialogues, Plato uses a conversational prose format to explore the nature of society, seeking to define the characteristics of an ideal society, or republic. Inspired by the teachings of his mentor, Socrates, in the Republic Plato theorizes that the...

...Descartes and Plato
Explain both of descartes Arguments for the existence of God
Descartes proof of God's existence comes from his third meditation and is based on
three ideas. He argues that innate idea exists within us, the fictitious or invented ideas are
a result of our own imagination and adventitious ideas result from our experiences
in the world. Descartes said, the idea of God is innate and cannot be invented.
Descartes presents some arguments that lead to his conclusion. The first argument
is that nothing can result to something and the cause of an idea will always have a formal
reality
because the idea must have an objective reality. He argues that if an individual have
God, then the idea has an infinite objective reality and therefore, the individual cannot
be the cause of the idea, because he is not infinite or a perfect being or he doesn't
have enough formal reality. It's only a perfect and infinite being who can be the cause of
the idea. Therefore, God as an infinite reality must exist. A perfect being, is
benevolent and good; implying that God is benevolent and would not deceive or allow
making
errors without giving a way of correcting the errors.
The second argument Descartes gives is based on the premise that I exist, and my
existence must have a cause. He gives the only possible causes are: my existence, existence
of something less perfect than God and existence of God.
Out of this Descartes argues that if I had...

...Hint: Plato says (in effect): “Since knowledge is certain, therefore the objects of knowledge must be unchanging.”).
b) Define Plato’s Forms and present the theory of Forms by explaining the “divided line.” (You can use the visual image, but explain it.)
Plato was extremely devoted in answering the sophists’ skepticism about reason and morality. To do so, he spent more time than any philosopher before him studying knowledge, or epistemology. He realized that to answer the sophists’ skepticism he had to first solve the three main problems that earlier philosophers had left behind; the problems of change, the “one” and the “many”, and the problem between appearance and reality. Plato started where Heraclitus, who said that everything is changing, and Parmenides, who said that nothing ever changes, left off. He said that both philosophers were correct in their assumptions, for they were talking about different types of objects. Heraclitus is correct in terms of the sensible realm; it obviously exists, and is a flux that conforms to the “measures” as he suggested. Parmenides was correct in terms of the intelligible realm. Plato thought that beyond the world of physical objects in space and time is another world that is nonphysical, non-spatial, and non-temporal. He called this the world of ideai, or forms.
These forms are nonphysical, non-spatial, non-temporal objects of thought that are more real than...

...Abstract
Many Philosophers made a difference in society but Plato is perhaps recognized as the most famous. His writings have had a profound effect on people, politics, and the philosophy throughout the centuries. He was a public figure and he made major contributions to society. Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of modern culture through his ideas and writings.
One of the most philosophical thinkers of Western civilization,Plato is the only author from ancient Greek times whose writings survive intact. His collection consists of thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, though the authorship of some is contested. Plato was born in Athens, into a prosperous aristocratic family. His Father’s name was Ariston and his Mother’s name was Perictione. His relative named Glaucon was one of the best-known members of the Athenian nobility. Plato's name was Aristocles, his nickname Plato originates from wrestling circles, Plato means broad, and it probably refers either to his physical appearance or his wrestling style. “Plato is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy,” (Kraut, 2009).
Plato was born during the Golden Age of Athens’s which saw the birth of classical architecture,...

...Plato’s “The Apology” he gave the idea that truth needs to be pursued by changing your position through questioning and conflict with opposing ideas. It is THIS idea of the truth being pursued, rather than discovered, that characterizes Socratic thought and much of our “Western” philosophical thought today.
Plato:
Plato was born in around 428 BC and lived until 348 BC, he was a classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy of Athens… which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato was a student to Socrates and was a teacher to Aristotle and was instrumental in laying the groundwork of Western philosophy and science. He was a brilliant writer and one the most influential authors in the history of Philosophy.
The fundamental aspect of Plato's thought is the theory of "ideas" or "forms". Plato believed the world that appears to our senses is in some way filled with error, or defective. He believed there is a “perfect realm”, populated by entities otherwise known as “forms” or “ideas” that are eternal, changeless and in some sense related to the structure of our world. Plato urges us to transform our values by taking to heart the greater reality of the forms and the defectiveness of the living world. He says we must recognize that the soul is a different sort of object from the body; it does not depend on the...

...Explain the Analogy of the Cave in Plato’s Republic.
Plato was a Greek Philosopher, who was a student of Socrates. The Analogy of the Cave in Plato’s Republic was written as a dialogue between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon. In the Analogy of the Cave, Plato describes the prisoners who lived an isolated life in the confined space of a cave. Plato’s Analogy explains a philosopher’s journey to knowledge and the difficulty that he faces along the way and the prisoners in the cave who have not embarked on the journey to true knowledge and are living their lives, only seeing what is on the surface, and what they want to see.
The Analogy relates to Plato’s Theory of Forms, which explains how the forms possess the ultimate reality. The World of Forms is the unseen world in which everything is constantly evolving and changing. The Analogy however, is the attempt to enlighten the prisoners and explain the philosophers place in society. He uses the story to explain the need to question everything like a philosopher does in order to distinguish between the unreal, physical world and the real spiritual world lit by the sun. The sun is the ultimate good and Plato gives the name of good the demiurge.
The cave is a symbol of the world; it represents the World of Appearances based on what people see by their senses. It is an illusionary physical world in which people are trapped by ignorance and false truths. It is a world where...

...June 4, 2001
Comparison of Plato and Aristotle’s Philosophies
Plato and Aristotle are both great philosophers in their own regard. Both agree that the world has a purpose, and that it’s not just an accident. Both also hate materialists since in their (materialists’) interpretation of the world, value, choice, and freedom are not plausible outcomes, and so morality and rationality do not make sense. And both ask the same question, what does it take to be a good, moral person? Yet, even though Aristotle was a student of Plato, each philosopher develops his own view on things and a specific way of solving a particular problem.
For example, Plato and Aristotle have quite different views regarding life. Plato is dissatisfied with sense and desire, which are nothing to him except a shadow of reality his aim of philosophy is to die away from these things. The real, on the other hand, is unchanging, static, eternal. He aims to grasp the Forms and to contemplate the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, and to remain caught up in contemplation of these things. Aristotle has no such discontents, however. He likes life in this world, even though it is not perfect. He does develop his own view of the divine and how it is related to the world, but sees no reason why one would be driven to flee from life in the world. The various animals he studies are real things; philosophy to him is not to run away from...